A Troubled Man
by Leesa Perrie
Summary: AU. Sequel to A Rolling Stone, with SG1.  Carter is kidnapped, and meets up with McKay.  Can they escape?


**A Troubled Man **

**By Leesa Perrie**

_Part 2 of the Cousins Series - sequel to 'A Rolling Stone'_

_This is set in Season 3 SG1 – and occurs instead of the episode 'Shades of Grey'. Also, the Season 5 episode '48 Hours' doesn't occur in my AU._

Samantha Carter was pissed. Kidnapped by rogue NID agents, whilst on a mission with her team, and being gated to another world, without her GDO, and whose address she wasn't allowed to see, was not something that she had planned for today. Especially not in the company of this particular group of people.

The planet they gated to was a desert, at least around the gate and as far as her eyes could see. She was marched off, walking for about twenty minutes in the hot, dry and dusty air, until they came to a building, that was hidden under a sand dune with only the doorway cleared of sand. There was little chance of anyone spotting the building from the gate, she realised. It was very well camouflaged.

Inside, she was led into a lab area. There were four people busy working on various alien devices, and a man who approached her.

"Major Carter, so nice to see you. I'm Newman, and this is my unit."

"What do you want?" Carter was in no mood for small talk.

"Ah, my unit is involved in acquiring alien technology that can be used to protect Earth from the Goa'uld threat. Two weeks ago we acquired a device that we believe is a powerful weapon, but our scientists are having difficulty understanding how it works, let alone how to reverse engineer it. You're going to help us with it."

"No," Carter said.

"I thought you'd say that." Newman indicated to the two men guarding her to bring her with him as he left the lab. They walked down a corridor and came to what was obviously a cell.

"Before we unfortunately lost use of the second stargate on Earth, we brought someone out here who we believed would be willing to help us; someone who would be, and has been, very useful to us. Unfortunately, he disagreed with our methods of acquiring technology and we were forced to take some drastic measures to ensure his help. For someone who had never heard of the stargate or aliens, he has picked up a great deal about the technology here very quickly."

Newman indicated for the cell door to be opened, and a man was brought out. The guy looked too pale, and was clearly nervous, though he held his head high and glared at Newman.

"This is Dr Rodney McKay, a brilliant mind. A pity about his appalling lack of social skills, and his stubborn streak." Newman smiled. "Why don't you show Major Carter here the device we placed on your arm?"

McKay glared at him, and crossed his arms in defiance. Newman merely sighed, fishing a small oblong device from his pocket. McKay's face lost what little colour it had, and he begrudgingly thrust out his left arm, pulling the sleeve of his shirt up to the elbow. There was a three inch bracelet running around his lower arm, and Sam realised that it wasn't just _on_ his arm, it had in fact become a part _of_ his arm; his skin melding into the bracelet almost seamlessly. McKay wasn't looking anyone in the eyes now, and Sam had a bad feeling about what this device did.

"Interesting device. Once placed onto the skin, it starts to slowly burn the upper layer of the skin it sits on away, and replaces it. Thin spikes enter the muscle beneath as well. The process is…painful, but only lasts a few days. After that, well, this control device is the key then. It has ten settings. The first one is a low level pain that encompasses the whole body, the next increases the pain, and so on up until the number ten setting. That is, apparently, agony. Isn't it, Dr McKay?"

"Yes," McKay gritted out.

"Now, I have a second one, which I will use on you if I have to," Newman turned to Sam, "But I'd rather not have to wait the initial few days before I put you to work on the weapon. Your choice."

Sam considered her options and decided that playing along was the best choice for the time being. Hopefully, she'd be able to find a way to escape and having one of those bracelets on her arm would be a problem. Of course, she would still have the problem of trying to take this McKay guy with her if she could, or at least finding out the gate address to this planet so that a rescue could be mounted for him.

"Fine," she said. "I'll take a look at the weapon for you."

"Good. Dr McKay has been in charge of the work done on it so far, I'm sure he'll be willing to show what he has achieved."

Newman left them as the guards escorted McKay and Carter to another lab, and the weapon.

* * *

"This is what I've done so far," McKay said, pointing to a laptop on one of the tables.

Sam took a seat in front of it, checking through the schematics on the screen. McKay pointed out some of his theories as to what each button and connection did. She couldn't help but notice how nervous he seemed, and it was only a few minutes before she started to work out why.

The data was full of errors. Errors that were so basic and so simple they could only have been made deliberately, unless this McKay guy was an idiot, and she got the impression from Newman that he definitely wasn't that.

He met her eyes, and she could see the fear clearly.

She got it then; he was afraid she would tell Newman about the deliberate errors he'd been making. Errors that were obviously slowing down the process of learning how the weapon worked.

She smiled reassuringly.

"Impressive," she said quietly. "I think I can work with this."

He relaxed slightly, and nodded.

"It's my fault they brought you here," he replied, equally as quietly. "If I hadn't stalled… I'm sorry."

"You were doing what you thought was right." She looked him in the eyes again, trying to convey that she didn't blame him, but he looked away, guilt still in place.

"So, how long will it take you to catch up with my work?" he asked more loudly.

"A couple of days, maybe. There's a lot to look through," she replied.

"Okay."

They continued to work on the data, McKay answering her questions, and giving explanations for his findings. She wasn't sure how long they could fool their captors for, but she knew that her team would be looking for her, and although she didn't hold out a lot of hope that they'd be able to find her, she wasn't going to rule that possibility out. And there was bound to be an opportunity to escape sooner or later. They just had to spin this out as long as they could and hope for the best.

* * *

After several hours of work, with only a couple of breaks for food, they were taken back to the cell. Inside, Sam noticed that there was only one bed.

"Well," McKay said. "Under other circumstances I'd enjoy sharing my bed with a hot blonde female, but…" he stopped suddenly, and started to turn slightly red. "Um, that is…" he sighed heavily. "Sorry, I've been told my mouth has a tendency to run before my brain engages. Bad habit. I'll take the floor…"

Sam shook her head, hiding a grin at his obvious discomfort.

"We'll take turns with the bed."

Just then the cell door opened again, and a mattress and bedding were brought in and placed on the wall opposite the bed. Sam was given a pair of sweat suit bottoms and a t-shirt, and the guards left.

"Well, that sorts that out," she said. "I'll take the mattress and the fresh bedding."

"Okay, fine." McKay grabbed a pair of sweats from the bed along with his t-shirt, and disappeared into what Sam presumed to be a bathroom. She sorted out her bed, and took her turn in the bathroom when McKay came back out. When she had finished, she found he was already in bed, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

"I should probably warn you," he said quietly, "I've been having a few nightmares lately," he huffed a wry laugh. "Can't imagine why."

"How bad was it? The bracelet," she asked.

"Bad. When they first put it on me, it felt like my skin was on fire. I guess it was in a way. So it was bad, very bad. Newman used it on the top setting after a few days, just to make sure I knew what it was capable off. I've pretty much towed the line since then. He's used it on a lower setting a few times, when I've mouthed off about something. I know, I know, not intelligent, but sometimes I just can't seem to help myself."

"This weapon…"

"Is the worst thing I've had to work on. The other stuff didn't worry me as much as that thing does. I have a really bad feeling about what they'd do with it when we get it working. Not much I can do about it though, not while Newman has that control device and I have this," he said, waving his left arm briefly.

"I guess so," she agreed, realising that there was a good chance the cell was bugged. "So, how did you get into this mess in the first place?"

"My ego," he muttered in disgust.

"What?"

"Someone approached me, saying they were from the US government, and offering me a chance to work on top secret research. They said some things that, I'll admit, flattered my ego, and they were very persuasive. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Next thing I know, I'm being asked to step through a wormhole to another planet."

"And you did?"

"Well, I still thought they were from the government, and that this was a sign of how important I was, you know, letting me know about wormhole travel and all that. So, yes, I stepped through. At first I was happy to work on the tech here, but then I started to get suspicious. Pretty quickly, actually. I was only here about three days before I realised the truth. Overheard comments, some hacking into their computers, and listening into conversations I wasn't supposed to hear. When I realised they were rogue agents, and that they didn't care about how they gained the technology, I was furious. And, of course, my mouth got the better of me again. Should have kept quiet and played along, I might have found a way to escape."

"Live and learn, I guess," Carter said.

"Maybe. My cousin always said that despite my innate distrust of the human race, I was too naïve for my own good. Guess he was right, not that I'd ever tell him that," he sighed. "And now I've got someone else dragged into this, because I'm not fast enough for them."

"There's a good chance they'd have dragged me into this eventually anyway. I've been working with various alien technologies for a few years now," she tried to reassure him.

"Maybe."

"I wish I knew how they were able to grab me. How they knew which planet I'd be on."

"They have an agent working with your people. You see, they send small items back to Earth for reverse engineering. The agent lets them know which planet his team is due to visit, via a Goa'uld communication device, and they leave the item there for him to collect. We get the larger items here."

"So there's a mole within the Stargate Programme. That's just…great." Sam looked far from pleased. "Any idea who he or she is?"

"No. Not that it matters. We're pretty much stuck here. Well, I am at least, thanks to the bracelet of pain," he closed his eyes, sounding defeated. "If you get a chance to escape, take it. Get out of here."

"What about you?"

"Just get yourself out," he said quietly. "I made my bed, so to speak, now I get to lie in it."

"McKay…"

"No. I don't want pity, okay?" he turned over, facing away from her. "I don't deserve it in any case. Now, I'm going to try and at least get some sleep."

She sighed, not sure how to respond to him, and decided to try and get some sleep as well. She settled down on her mattress, but sleep was a long time coming.

* * *

McKay had been right, and twice she had been woken by his nightmares. He had apologised both times, obviously embarrassed. She had tried to reassure him that it was only to be expected, but it was clear he saw them as a sign of weakness.

They went back to work on the weapon the next day, both feeling tired after a less than refreshing night. Or what passed for night here.

Newman came down to check on them twice a day, and there were always at least two guards in the lab with them. Sam counted four scientists other than McKay and herself, five guards and Newman. Ten people in all.

The guards carried guns she didn't recognise. McKay told her that they were some type of stun weapon. The first hit would paralyse but not knock a person unconscious. More hits would knock a person out, and the length of time unconscious related to the amount of hits taken. Unlike a zat'ni'katel, these weapons were unlikely to kill anyone, no matter how many times a person was hit.

She had a plan, simple, and not foolproof by any means, but it could work. The problem was letting McKay know without tipping off anyone watching or listening to them.

She waited until there were just the two guards in the lab with them, and for McKay to have his back to them. It hadn't taken her long to realised he wasn't very good at the lying and stalling thing. He wouldn't have gotten away with it much longer before someone realised what he was doing, she was sure of that. So she waited until his back was to the guards and his face was hidden from them, before leaning forward, as if checking something on the weapon.

"Can you distract the guards somehow?" she said very quietly. "If you can do that, I can grab one of the stunners and take them out."

He looked at her, eyes wide with fear, but then he swallowed and nodded, steeling himself for what was to come.

Sam walked over to a computer set up near to the door of the lab, and next to one of the guards. McKay fiddled with the weapon for a few moments, and then it discharged an arc of electricity, which he only just managed to get out of the way of. Whilst the guards were distracted by the light show, and McKay's curses, Sam slammed into the nearest guard, grabbing the stunner as he dropped it in surprise. She stunned the second guard before he could react, and then the guard she'd taken the gun from just as he was turning to attack.

"Some distraction," Sam said with a grin.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so…impressive."

McKay looked pretty shaken, but moved to pick up the second stunner.

The sound of the guns had attracted attention, and Sam had to stun another two guards that stood in their way. McKay tried to stun a scientist who came into the hallway, but missed him by a couple of feet. Fortunately, Sam was able to stun the guy before he got off a shot; the scientists having weapons as well as the guards.

Once outside, they started to run towards the stargate in the distance, with sounds of pursuit behind them.

Reaching the gate, Sam dialled in the address of the Alpha site, but as she approached the event horizon with McKay next to her, she heard the sound of a gun, and felt an impact. She fell as paralysis took over her body, but before she hit the ground someone, McKay she realised, pushed her forwards and into the wormhole.

He didn't follow. He'd had to turn back from the wormhole to grab Sam. As he pushed her through, a stunner shot hit him and changed his direction, moving him away from the event horizon and over to one side. A second shot took him into oblivion.

Then the gate shut down.

* * *

Sam landed on the ground at the Alpha site, and was surrounded within minutes by the soldiers guarding the gate. She tried to talk, but found to her utmost frustration that she couldn't. Fortunately, it didn't take the soldiers long to realise that she was paralysed and radio for a med team.

It was then she realised that McKay hadn't made it through with her, and as she didn't know the gate address for the planet he was on, rescue seemed unlikely any time soon. She was afraid of what they would do to him; whatever they did, she knew it wouldn't be good.

He'd pushed her through, made sure she'd gotten away, and in doing so had lost his own chance to escape. She wasn't going to forget that. And she was determined to find him.

She owed him, and she intended to repay that debt.

* * *

It couldn't have been more than forty minutes before Jack, Daniel and Teal'c entered the med tent she was in. The paralysis was beginning to wear off, though movement was still limited. She did, however, have her voice back, much to her relief.

She told them about what had happened. About Newman and the rouge NID agents. About McKay and the bracelet. About how he had given up his chance to escape to make sure she made it. About the weapon, and how she didn't know the planet's address. About how the smaller items were left on a planet that a SG team was visiting, and the mole inside the SGC would pick it up and smuggle it out of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Jack went back to update General Hammond on the events in person.

Three hours later, and Sam was able to walk through the gate and return to Earth, to start a search for NID agents who might be involved with the rogue off world unit.

* * *

A week passed, and no information about the planet or the rogue NID agents was forthcoming, much to Sam's annoyance. Her team mates were also getting frustrated at the lack of progress.

Research told her that the Air Force had been watching Dr Rodney McKay with a view to approach him to join the Stargate Programme and assigning him to Area 51, but the rogue NID had gotten to him first. His file was interesting. While his accomplishments in his field were impressive, it seemed his character left a lot to be desired. He was described by his colleagues as annoying, irritating, rude, obnoxious, lacking in people skills, arrogant, petty, stand offish, lacking in tact or diplomacy, suspicious and downright difficult to work with. On the other side, they had to admit, though begrudgingly it seemed, that he was a genius.

The man she had met had clearly been a subdued version, but she guessed that being tortured, and there was no other word for what had been done to him, would subdue anyone. Not that he'd been completely beaten; he'd been stalling on the weapon by making deliberate errors in the data, even though he was clearly afraid of what the consequences of his actions could be.

Would be, she thought to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be hurt, and hurt badly, by Newman and his group.

"Sam," Daniel interrupted her musings. "General Hammond has called a meeting. We have a breakthrough."

"We do?" Sam got up and followed Daniel towards the conference room.

"Yes, we've found the mole in the SGC, or rather, he has come forward. Seems stealing technology is fine in his books, but torturing people from Earth isn't."

"Right. Seems like a fine line to me," she muttered disgustedly.

They arrived at the conference room and took a seat. Jack, Teal'c and General Hammond were already there.

"We have a breakthrough?" Sam asked, eagerly.

"Yes, Colonel Makepeace appears to have developed a conscience."

"Makepeace? He's the mole?" Sam was surprised.

"Yes, Major. He has given us a gate address and claims it's the planet you were taken to, and where Dr McKay is being held. SG-3 and 5 will be accompanying you in the raid. We just need to discuss tactics."

* * *

He had lost track of time, but was sure it had been days since Carter had gotten away and he hadn't. At least five days, maybe more. Newman had been angry, to say the least. Furious, more like. Over an hour with the bracelet on the highest setting, after he'd been beaten pretty thoroughly by two of Newman's goons. Even after that, the bracelet was left on the first setting, and still was, well, when it wasn't set to a higher one for an hour or so.

Of course, Newman had found out not long after that McKay, as well as Carter, had been stalling on the weapon and falsifying their data. This had resulted in several more beatings. At least once, possibly twice a day, two goons came in and beat on him for a bit. Not enough to break bones or cause serious injuries. They wanted him alive, but broken.

And he was, broken. He knew he was. He'd pleaded with them to stop, told them he'd do what they wanted. Newman had come in, had heard him promise to work for him, to do whatever he wanted, to not try to escape again. The guy had smiled smugly, and then turned and left. The beatings continued. And the pain from the bracelet. His bones ached, and when the setting was higher, his nerves tingled or screamed. He was beginning to wonder if Newman was ever going to call his goons off, ever going to switch off the bracelet, or if he'd decided McKay was no longer needed, and this was just the beginning of a long slow death.

But no, they needed him. They wouldn't kill him, but they would break him even more than he was, if that was possible. Reduce him to a shadow of himself.

He didn't expect rescue. Carter wouldn't know where to look for him. He doubted she or the people she worked with would find the mole in their organization, and even if they did, would they know this planet's address? Or give it up, if they did? The Air Force, that was who Carter worked for, he remembered. But he didn't hold out much hope that they would be able to find this place. Newman obviously thought the same. If there was any danger of this place being found, he'd have moved his people by now.

No one was coming for him. Why would they anyway? They'd want to take out this group, stop them from using the weapon, maybe take it for themselves. If he was rescued, it would be a by-product of that. No one would come just for him.

This would never truly end. The beatings and the constant pain would stop eventually, they needed him to work for them, they wouldn't kill him, so they would stop. But he didn't know how long before that happened, and even when it did, the threat would always be there. Always. He was alone, and no one was coming. What remained of his family would never know what had happened to him.

* * *

SG-3 were left at the gate to hold it, along with a med team that would be sent in once the building was safe. SG-1 and 5 attacked the building, quickly and easily disarming the people inside. It would seem that Newman and his people were so confident that they could not be located that their security was lax when it came to attacks.

It was Daniel and Teal'c who found the cell holding McKay, and seeing just how freaked out the guy was, they had retreated outside. Daniel contacted Sam, asking her to come down, and to bring the controller for the bracelet device. He was hoping that if she gave the controller to McKay, he would calm down, as he would be able to ensure it was not activated. He also radioed for the med team to join them.

Sam was shocked by the sight that met her when she entered the cell. McKay was a mess. Beaten black and blue, and clearly in pain, he was huddled in the corner, terrified. Daniel had made the right call in not trying to approach him, she wasn't sure he was able to tell friend from foe right now.

McKay looked up at her, seeing the control device she was holding. His eyes went wide with fear.

"Please," he rasped out desperately. "Please, turn it off."

Sam looked at the control device in surprise and shock, realising that it was set to the number three setting.

"Shit," she exclaimed, switching the device off quickly. "I didn't realise it was on."

She moved towards McKay, crouching down close to him. He backed away from her, not totally aware of who was approaching him, and hunched over, as if to protect himself from any further beating.

"Hey," she said gently. "It's me, Samantha Carter, the hot blonde."

He lifted his head and looked at her again, and this time she could tell he had recognised her.

"You…" he closed his eyes briefly. "You found me…came back for me," he whispered, looking at her in some kind of awe, and she realised he truly hadn't expected to be rescued; for her to come back for him.

"Yeah, I did."

"He was pretty mad with me. More so when he found out about the stalling, on the weapon, you know?" McKay's voice was hoarse, and shaky.

"Hey, easy now. Let us help you," she reached out, touching his shoulder. She could feel the tremors racking his body, but he didn't flinch back from her. "Can you walk?"

"Maybe…probably not far…"

"That's okay," in the background she could hear Daniel asking what was keeping the med team.

"I thought…no one would come…"

"I wasn't going to leave you here."

"Should have known…you'd find a way. But…not used to people…wanting to… help me. Used to being alone." He put his head down onto his drawn up knees. Sam noticed that the shivering seemed to be easing along with the tension in his body.

"Never leave a man behind," Sam said. "It's something I've come to believe in."

He gave a short huff of laughter at that, and looked at her again.

"I never understood that sort of thing. Risking your life for someone else, especially someone you hardly know…I never understood why people might do that," he looked away, raising a still shaky hand to brush through his hair in a nervous manner. "But I'm glad you came."

Sam offered him the control device for the bracelet, and he looked at it in surprise. He reached out to take it, and then stopped.

"No…you keep hold of it," he pulled his hand back. "I…trust you…not to use it."

"Okay," she said, realising the level of trust he was placing in her, and how difficult it was for him.

The med team arrived at that point, and Sam moved to allow them access to McKay. He pulled back at first, wary and unsure, but a few words from Sam relaxed him enough to let them check him over.

A few minutes later, he was strapped to a stretcher and heading back to the gate, back to Earth. Sam stayed with him as he was still jumpy and struggling to remain calm.

* * *

McKay was taken straight to the infirmary, where he was examined by Dr Fraiser. Sam remained with him, though he seemed to be calming down now. The meds he was given for the pain probably helped, having a slight sedative effect on him.

He fell asleep soon after the examination, x-rays and scans were completed, and Sam waited to hear the results. The rest of SG1 joined her.

"Well," Janet Fraiser said eventually. "He's going to be sore for some days, but there are no serious injuries. A lot of bruising, but nothing broken and no internal bleeding."

"They didn't want him dead," Sam stated.

"No. The beatings were brutal but carefully done, insuring they didn't do serious damage, but enough to be painful. He was showing signs of hypoglycaemia, but fortunately his blood sugar hadn't dropped to a dangerous level. Nothing some regular food won't fix. The worst problem is that bracelet device. Removing it won't be easy, and is going to leave substantial scarring."

"Too large a wound to suture," Sam nodded. "Even using skin grafts will be difficult. It's a large area to cover."

"Yes," Janet agreed.

"He's been through hell," Daniel said with a grimace. "A pity he'll be left with a physical scar."

"I could use the healing device. It might still scar, but not as badly," Sam offered.

"You sure about this?" Jack asked her, knowing she still wasn't confident with its use.

"Whilst I'm not as skilled with it as others, I can make things better for him. I wouldn't have escaped if not for him. I owe him, sir."

"It certainly wouldn't hurt," Janet agreed.

"Not sure the General will agree. It's not like this guy has signed any nondisclosure papers or anything," Jack warned.

"But he has been working with alien technology," Daniel pointed out. "And he knows about the stargate. What difference would it make?"

"He'll sign the papers, I'm sure," Sam said confidently. "And I think he could be an asset to the programme. He's certainly very intelligent."

"Fine. I'll talk to Hammond," Jack said, leaving.

* * *

Rodney was persuaded to sign the nondisclosure papers, after it had been pointed out to him that not doing so would make him a security threat. He wasn't sure what that would mean for him, but decided it was in his best interests not to find out. Besides, after the technology he had been privy to, there was no way he could return to his former work, and he was hoping he might be offered a job within this Stargate Programme. If they didn't, then he would have to find a way to make them offer him a job.

Removing the bracelet had gone reasonably alright. When he woke up, the wound was healed, as were the scrapes and bruises he had suffered. There was some scarring around his arm where the device had been, but not too bad. Not as bad as he had feared. They had explained about the healing device before they'd used it on him, but even with everything he had seen recently, he hadn't really believed it until he had woken up, healed.

He was still somewhat jumpy, which he hated. And every time he slept, there were nightmares about Newman and his goons and he'd wake up shivering in fear. He was scheduled to see the base's psychiatrist and he wasn't looking forward to that. But he'd play along, and maybe the guy could help him a little bit, though he was far from confident of that.

Daniel Jackson had spent some time with him, as had Sam. He found it easy to talk to them, well, easier than he'd ever found it to talk to anyone other than his cousin. And they didn't seem affected when he was sarcastic or rude to them. Sam, he could understand. She felt grateful, and maybe a little guilty, that he had gotten her to safety but not himself. Eventually, she'd get over that and then his personality was bound to drive her away. But why this Daniel guy was willing to spend time with him, he couldn't figure out. Unless it was gratitude for helping to save Sam. Maybe that was it, and it would run out eventually as well.

Yes, that made sense.

Either that or they were ordered to make nice with him. Which was also a possibility. He could be a useful asset to the US government, and they'd want to keep him on their side.

He'd just have to wait and see what happened now.

* * *

It was over a week since McKay had been rescued when Sam walked into the infirmary. McKay was doing better, according to Janet and Dr Jameson, the psychiatrist who McKay was the bane of right now, from what she had heard. Anyway, he was being released from the infirmary, and being allocated temporary quarters for a few days. He hadn't really needed to be kept in the infirmary for all of this time, but Dr Jameson had wanted McKay somewhere he could be watched without him feeling spied on. He had been a little concerned about his patient's state of mind and didn't think being alone when the nightmares happened was a good idea. Now, however, McKay was doing better and could be released.

In the last few days, the guy had re-found the sarcasm that his former colleagues had mentioned, as well as the ability to complain about, well, _everything_. His arrogance was also returning, and it seemed his ego had no bounds. She knew that normally she would find him annoying and obnoxious, but she had seen a different side to him when they were prisoners. He had risked pain to try and slow down, even stop, the research on that weapon, afraid of what it would be used for. He had helped her escape, even giving up his own chance of getting away to make sure she did. And he had paid for it.

The Rodney McKay she had seen was scared but also determined and brave. And capable of feeling guilt, which suggested an ability to care even if he preferred to seem uncaring of anyone but himself. She suspected there was a lot more to him than she had seen, and that there was definitely a lot more to him than he let anyone else see. Daniel had also figured out that there was more to him than met the eye, and Daniel was a pretty good judge of character.

She had to wonder what had made him like he was, but although she had read the comments from his previous employers and workmates, she hadn't looked into his childhood or background, tempting though it had been, other than to know he was Canadian but had lived in the US since his teens.

"Hey," she said as she approached McKay. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed and ready to leave the infirmary, and looking impatient to go.

"Hi. Don't suppose you can hurry up the doctor and get me out of here?" he said grumpily.

"No, but I can talk about what you are going to do once you're well enough to go back to your life."

"Oh, right. I'm supposed to just go back to my life as if nothing has happened?"

"Well, we will give you a cover story…"

"Great, just great. And after studying alien technology for the last three or so months, I'm supposed to return to my previous job? Stick to Earth technology? How can you be sure I won't try and build my own stargate or something?" he challenged.

"Because you wouldn't want to get into trouble with the government," Sam said with a smile.

"Humph. You're wasting my talents if you let me go. You should offer me a job here."

"Oh, I don't know. What was it your colleagues said about you? Oh, that's right. Rude, annoying, bad with people, petty, arrogant, obnoxious and impossible to work with." She looked at him thoughtfully. "Not sure I hate my staff enough to subject them to you."

"Ack, stupid so called colleagues. They're a bunch of un-evolved chimps. Really, hardly a brain cell amongst them."

"You told me yourself you have a tendency to say things before thinking them through. Hardly a sign of tact or diplomacy," she said, trying not to grin.

"Oh, right. That's nice. Quote me against me, wonderful!"

"Actually." Sam gave into the grin. "I have a job offer here that you might be interested in. Head of a small team at Area 51, researching the technology we have so far, and any that is acquired in a more ethical way than Newman and his friends."

"Who do you hate at Area 51, then?" he said suspiciously.

"No one, actually. I just think you'd be of more use there than here," Sam sighed. "I was only teasing you, McKay."

"Oh, well, oh," he stumbled to a stop. "Okay, Area 51 sounds good."

"Good. I'll get the necessary paperwork started then." She shook her head, wondering if she should have teased him. "Look, McKay, I was only teasing you. it's what friends do, and I hope that we can be friends."

"I…I don't really _do_ friends as such. I mean…that is…" he sighed. "I'd like that." Then he grinned. "Of course, the fact that you're so hot might distract me…"

Sam hit him on the arm, scowling at him.

"McKay…" she warned.

"Okay, okay," he held up his hands. "Sorry. Just…teasing."

"You'd better be."

"So, when do I get a tour of this place?"

"As soon as Janet lets you out of here." Sam turned to Janet, who had entered just then.

"You can go, Dr McKay," Janet said. "But I want you to check in with me tomorrow morning."

"Fine," he muttered, turning back to Sam. "So, are you my tour guide?"

"Actually, no. I'm going to take you to see General Hammond first. Then I'm sure he'll find someone to show you around."

"Okay," he wasn't happy about it, but decided not to argue. He didn't want to ruin what could be an interesting friendship, at least not yet. He had no doubt he'd mess things up eventually, or she'd decide he wasn't worth her attention, just like everyone else. Well, except his uncle, aunt and cousin. But that was different. They were family.

The End


End file.
